Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“The Queen of Curses of the Void City?!”
Pride Great Soul Overlord was shocked at first, but he soon pulled himself together. The girl before him was not the existence he remembered. However, his eyes burst with a bright light.
“Although you’re not the Queen of Curses, you must be a member of the royal family of the Void City! It’s rare to meet one… If I capture you and then offer you up when the Soul God awakens, I will definitely become his true confidant!”
Soul Overlords all knew the Void City. They also knew that the Soul God had an almost morbid emotion for it, an emotion that had been proven over countless years.
Now, a member of the royal family of the Void City had appeared in front of him. How could Pride Great Soul Overlord possibly pass up the opportunity? He opened his mouth and roared, his voice shattering the stars around him.
Nethery was clad in ghostly green armor, which completely covered her graceful figure.
In fact, she did not want to use this power. This was the memory that had awakened after fusing the female corpse. It had always lurked in the depths of her soul, and now this memory had completely exploded.
If it were not for the fact that Bu Fang was in a very bad situation, she would not have let the voice bewitch her. The main reason was that the price was too heavy for her.
Boom!
The dark green spear collided with Pride Great Soul Overlord’s dreadful attack. Powerful waves of air immediately swept out in all directions.
The Soul Overlord’s cold laughter rang out. “Although you have unleashed stronger power, it is only the power of a Saint of the Great Path… You are no match for me!”
At the center of the explosion, the huge cursed snake twisted and turned. Nethery, on the other hand, shot backward like a cannonball and stopped in the starry sky.
Her face was cold, and her armor shone with a strange glow. She raised her hand and gripped the spear tightly. The curse power swirled around her. Without saying anything, she rushed toward the Soul Overlord once again.
In the distance, Tongtian and the others were dumbfounded and did not know what to say. None of them had expected that a girl following Bu Fang would be so fearsome!
The Empyrean Fairy was the one who was most shocked. She could not imagine at all that the person she was forced to serve was actually such a formidable existence. Nethery was a Saint of the Great Path, and not just any Saint!
“The Void City? Where is that?” Yang Jian asked, puzzled.
Tongtian’s eyes narrowed.
Sun Wukong glanced at Yang Jian and said, “I once heard Gautama mention the Void City. It seems to be the most mysterious place in the endless universes. It is a place abandoned by the world, where the purest power of evil is gathered. That power has nothing to do with good or evil.”
“A place abandoned by the world?” Yang Jian paused. It sounded like an awesome place.
“I also don’t know why it’s called that, but it’s an awesome place anyway.” Sun Wukong thought for a while, but he did not seem to come up with a reason. He scratched his cheek, somewhat annoyed.
…
The flames were blazing. It was a sea of fire. The flames in it were crimson, and they were so hot that Bu Fang could not help sweating.
Bu Fang’s cultivation base was now so profound that he had been able to control the circulation of energy in his body. Even so, he was still sweating from the heat. It showed how frightening the temperature in this sea of fire was.
He rolled up his sleeves and walked slowly.
Suiren said this was the inside of the primordial fire, and the hope that the fire represented also represented the hope of his resurrection.
Bu Fang had great admiration for the human emperors. These great emperors who selflessly gave everything for mankind were worthy of him stepping into the sea of fire for them.
Flames rose in the sea of fire. Suddenly, a fish jumped out of it, flapping its tail.
“There’s actually fish in this sea of fire?” Bu Fang was slightly stunned.
The next moment, a very dazzling scene appeared before his eyes. Countless fish leaped up from the sea of fire as if they were going to jump over the dragon gate. They kept on jumping, for once they crossed the dragon gate, they could turn into dragons.
Transforming into dragons was their only hope, and this was probably what the primordial fire wanted to express. One should strive relentlessly for hope because it never comes out of nowhere. It requires one to work hard for it.
Bu Fang focused his eyes and stepped into the sea of fire. A small rowboat appeared at his feet. It was a simple boat, moving slowly in the fire. It was so slow that Bu Fang wondered when it would sail to its destination.
Suiren said the hope was in the sea of fire. Bu Fang was at a loss when he glanced out at the vast expanse of flames, where countless fish were jumping. Where was the hope?
He exhaled deeply. Sweat trickled down his forehead, cheeks, and chin, falling onto the boat. He was panting for breath, feeling the heat all over him. He thought he was going to turn into a mass of flame at any time.
Suddenly, Bu Fang felt his body disintegrate and fall into the sea of fire. He became a fish, one of the countless fish that tried to leap out of this world. His body was burning with fire.
He was confused and frightened. How did he become a fish?
A fish slapped its tail against the sea of fire. With a splash of water, it shot out of the flames like a spring and leaped toward the sky.
The fish Bu Fang had turned into stared at a golden gate in the sky, which emitted a divine aura as if it represented hope.
He was suddenly a little anxious. He slapped the sea of fire with his tail, just like that fish. His body rushed out of the flames in an instant and flew toward the golden gate.
He wanted to enter the gate and seize hope. However, looking at the gate that was close at hand, a feeling of powerlessness suddenly arose within his heart. The next moment, the dragon gate was farther and farther away from him, and then with a smack, he fell into the sea of fire once again.
Countless fish around were repeating the same action, as numbingly as Bu Fang.
He was unwilling to admit defeat. He kept leaping, hoping that one day he could cross the dragon gate. Soon, he lost his sense of time.
As time passed, some of the fish got tired and retreated. A new school of fish came, still tirelessly leaping to cross the dragon gate.
With a splat, flames splashed and the fish Bu Fang had transformed fell into the sea of fire. He could not grasp hope. He felt exhausted, even hopeless.
What exactly was the hope Suiren told him? What was the hope that the primordial fire was trying to express? Did he have to taste despair before he could get hope?
Bu Fang stopped jumping. He hid in the sea of fire and stared at the dragon gate, which looked like a gaping mouth and was silently laughing at him.
He was very tired. He wanted to retreat like the other fish and let the new generation continue to jump. However, just as he was about to retreat, he froze.
Looking at the fish that swam past him, his gaze gradually became focused. If he really retreated, he would never be able to find hope hidden in the primordial fire, and he would really become a salted fish, facing everything hopelessly.
Bu Fang opened his eyes. He turned into a fish again, and once again he raced forward. He was back. Like the other fish, he was jumping continuously.
The flames in the sea of fire kept splashing. Bu Fang jumped day after day. School after school of fish came and went around him. He felt that with each jump, he was getting closer to the dragon gate.
One day, the fish Bu Fang had transformed into held its head high and slapped its tail on the surface of the sea of fire. Ripples spread out in all directions as if a stone had been thrown into a calm pond.
With a splat, he leaped into the air, rising higher and higher. At last, he rushed into the dragon gate!
Rumble!
Bu Fang’s eyes popped open. He felt that everything before had changed. He was still standing in the rowboat, but in front of him was a golden coast.
As he watched, green plants began to sprout along the coast and soon covered the entire land. They then grew into rice plants, matured, and bent with rice, filled with life force.
To see the bright moon, one has to push through the clouds, and to find the hope of life, one has to cross the dragon gate…
Bu Fang took a deep breath. Perhaps these dropping ears of rice before him were the so-called hope. He put his hands behind him and stepped into the golden paddy field that stretched as far as his eyes could see.
He took out the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife and skillfully cut the ears of rice, then mashed them and took out the white grains of rice. These rice grains were glittering and translucent. When he took one between his thumb and index finger and held it before his eyes, he could even see fire flickering inside.
This was a different kind of rice. This was the rice that symbolizes hope.
Bu Fang was in a bit of a trance. He thought the fish was like himself. The path to becoming the God of Cooking was the ultimate dragon gate. It was a very difficult path, so he must have the confidence and determination to go forward to find that sliver of hope.
For Bu Fang, the journey to find hope in the primordial fire was a spiritual baptism. His formerly confused state was thoroughly washed clean, and all that remained was his unmistakably determined self.
Bu Fang took out the Black Turtle Constellation Wok and prepared to cook. He poured the rice into the wok, and the primordial fire began to burn under the wok by itself.
A faint smile brushed his lips. With a shake of his hand, flames poured into the wok like water, covering the grains of rice.
Then, he sat cross-legged on the ground and waited quietly for the rice to cook.
It was a long process. He did not know how many years had passed, but he waited until the rice in the wok was cooked.
Bu Fang felt as if he had waited from youth to old age. Time had mercilessly left scratch marks on his heart.
Ding…
A bell-like sound rang out. He opened his eyes and lifted the lid of the wok. White steam gushed out at once, and a refreshing aroma filled his nostrils.
The cooked rice turned pure white and flawless, looking like the most precious jade in the world.
Bu Fang took out a blue-and-white porcelain bowl and filled it with the rice. The curvature of the rice was very beautiful, and the distance between each grain was perfect. Of course, the rice was fluffy and fragrant.
The look in Bu Fang’s eyes was very complicated. This was arguably the best dish he had ever cooked. It was ridiculous to say that the best dish he had cooked was actually a bowl of white rice, which did not require any advanced skills to cook. But only he knew what was in that bowl of rice.
He held the bowl and stared at the rice. He wondered when he would cook a dish of this level again.
The moment the rice was cooked, Bu Fang suddenly felt as if he had really become the God of Cooking, standing at the peak of the culinary path overlooking everything. However, when he opened his eyes, he found that it was just a dream.
The Black Turtle Constellation Wok disappeared and so had the primordial fire, but not the bowl of rice that Bu Fang was holding.
He returned to the familiar space of fire. In the distance, Suiren was sitting cross-legged on the ground.
As if sensing Bu Fang’s return, the human emperor opened his eyes and smiled. His hair was gray, and his face was covered with wrinkles. The moment he saw Bu Fang, he said benevolently, “You’re back, child.”
Bu Fang nodded. He walked over with the bowl of rice and handed it to Suiren.
“Have you found the hope of primordial fire I asked you to seek?” Suiren asked.
Bu Fang did not say anything but just handed the bowl over.
Suiren’s expression was still gentle, but he did not look at the rice in Bu Fang’s hand. “Where is the hope of the primordial fire?” he asked again.
Bu Fang did not move, still holding the bowl of rice.
The next moment, the kindly Suiren changed. His appearance became as terrifying as a demon, and the flames around him became black as ink!
Bu Fang calmly looked at Suiren, who had changed, and sighed. “This is the hope of the primordial fire,” he said softly.
Suddenly, the bowl of white rice burst into dazzling light, and then a wisp of gas as white as jade gradually emerged over the rice. It was… Chaotic Energy.
With a rumble, the grumpy and terrifying Suiren disappeared. What appeared before Bu Fang now was a scene he was very familiar with.
Suiren sat cross-legged in the distance, his head bowed. A tree branch was laid across his shoulders, and his arms were on it. At each end of the branch hung a Soul Demon’s head.
The two heads were hissing fiercely at Bu Fang. He carried the bowl of rice and came up to Suiren. The two heads struggled and tried to bite him.
“You’re too noisy,” Bu Fang said indifferently.
He raised his hand, and a red flame suddenly appeared in his palm. With a flick of his fingers, the flame leaped to the heads and burned them to ashes in an instant.
Though he had burned the heads of two Soul Overlords with a flick of his fingers, he looked as if he had done a trivial thing.
After that, he carefully spooned the white rice into Suiren’s mouth, one spoon at a time.
When the rice entered Suiren’s mouth, it immediately turned into streams of Chaotic Energy and went through his body. Soon, the bowl of rice was finished.
Boom!
A loud sound rang out like the morning bell. Suiren’s body quivered slightly. The blood that had dried up in him began to flow slowly, then rushed like a great river.
Bu Fang put his hands behind him, took two steps back, and stared at Suiren.
Suddenly, the flames in the space of fire grew brighter and stronger, and Suiren slowly raised his head.
